Temptress
by tiffywiffyfluffykitty
Summary: Jellal is a young sea captain off to search for adventure. Erza is a beautiful Siren with a heart colder than the Arctic Sea. When the two meet, Erza feels an undeniable and yet unwanted attraction towards the captain, who feels the same although he was intrigued by her indifference. Will Jellal eventually melt the Queen of the Waves' heart? Plus other pairings! (on hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The ship rocked gently, bobbing in the waves. Captain Jellal Fernandes looked out over the gleaming deck of the _Fairy Tail_, the ship given to him by Makarov, a wealthy owner of a shipping company who'd given Jellal the _Fairy Tail_ after he finished his apprenticeship at Makarov's company.

Natsu, a man with strangely pink hair, staggered slightly over the deck. He usually had seasickness, but the worse of it was always during a storm. Despite that weakness, he was an amazingly good fighter and an extremely loyal crewmate, which was why Jellal made him the first mate. Right now, he wore a loose linen shirt and brown canvas trousers along with his ever present scarf. Most of the men dressed similarly, as to accommodate the hot weather out at sea.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Gray, another member of Jellal's crew, scoffed at Natsu.

"You son of a bitch," Natsu snarled back and they began to brawl rather wobblingly due to the fact that Natsu was still sick and the waves were getting choppier.

"Stop it you two," Jellal said, walking down to them. "I don't want you to damage this ship so soon."

"Got it boss." They gave him a two-fingered salute and went to opposite sides of the boat. Natsu to throw up and Gray to wait for Ultear, his older sister who promised to see him off before the _Fairy Tail_ set sail.

Gajeel, Laxus, Bixslow, Freed, and Romeo, the cabin boy, boarded just as the clock tower struck twelve and rang across the city. They greeted Jellal, Natsu, and Gray and went below to stow away their belongings.

Not long after, they were back with the exception of Freed, who went to the galley as he was their chef. Natsu began giving out orders and soon, the sails were up as a steady wind blew against it, making the sails billow out.

Ultear came up with Lyon, Gray's older brother, and Gray bounded off the ship to speak with them. Macao, Romeo's father, was there next and so was Makarov, who was also Laxus' grandfather.

Jellal, Gajeel, Bixslow, Freed, and Natsu stayed behind, as they had nobody left in the world to see them off and Jellal gave the rest of his crew searching glances to see if they were saddened.

Bixslow was indifferent, polishing the collection of dolls that he carried around all the time. The others had teased him lightly for it, but Bixslow had never seemed to mind. Jellal had once asked him why he carried those dolls around but he didn't reply. Jellal had always suspected that the dolls were more important to him than it seemed.

Natsu, however, was picking a fight with Gajeel, who was clearly becoming antagonized until he snapped and punched Natsu in the gut. Jellal sighed; Natsu loved fighting and it was rather irritating at times, but he liked picking fights with people, most of all the _Fairy Tail_ crew. Jellal also knew that instead of words, he used his fists to let out his emotions whenever he felt negative emotions. Right now, he was letting out his feelings by picking a fight with Gajeel.

Jellal knew that Natsu was probably feeling sad from Igneel, who had disappeared at sea when he was a little boy, leaving him an orphan until Makarov found him on the streets and took him in. Gajeel was also the same, although he had a rough-and-tumble life with criminals and thugs in the slums of Magnolia city until Makarov saved him as well. He never spoke of his past, but Jellal had heard a little of it when Gajeel first joined the crew of the _Fairy Tail_.

And as for himself… He shook his head as thoughts of the slave ring came up. As a young boy, Jellal had been captured and made into a slave until he and several others rebelled and escaped. It was a cruel past and he was grateful to Makarov for taking him in and raising him as his own.

He checked the time and, although he was reluctant to, as he saw the happy faces of his crew and their families on the docks, called out, "All aboard!"

Gray hugged Ultear and Lyon and hurried up the gangplank as Romeo followed after his father gave him a bone-crushing hug. Makarov said something to Laxus and gave a nod to Jellal before the huge blond man hurried up.

The anchor was lifted and with Jellal at the steering wheel, the _Fairy Tail_ set sail.

* * *

**Also like my other fanfiction, Slave, I'm not going to continue until I finish My Choice To Make. I just wanted to post this up because I'm really excited about this fanfiction. Please review! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A blond head rose up out of the water, followed by creamy white shoulders as Lucy bobbed up to the surface. Beside her, Levy came out of the water as well, bearing a bag stuffed with human items, most of all books.

The two were just off the enormous patch of sharp rocks that many ships have met their end at, most of them sung by the Sirens. They were in Siren's Bay, the water around the island they called home, and the two of them loved to search the wrecks for anything they could salvage from the rotten ruins.

"That was a good one," Lucy said to Levy, hauling up her own bag.

"Yeah, I liked that pretty white box you found. The one with the red flowers on top," Levy replied.

A third head bobbed up. It was Juvia, a True Siren, meaning she was born of the sea. Lucy, Levy, and the rest of the Sirens were given the Siren Gift, meaning they had died at sea and the sea had decided to make them into Sirens and give them life once more. The Siren Gift was only given to women who had died at sea, never men. There were many more Sirens, but this part of the ocean, the largest Siren territory of all which is what the humans called the Pacific Ocean, was ruled over by Erza, a Siren Queen and the most unfeeling one of them all.

Erza wasn't a True Siren, but she had earned the title of Siren Queen fairly, after the old Siren Queen died and made Erza her successor. Not even Juvia dared question her authority even though by all rights, Juvia could have made a claim to the throne herself since she was an authentic Daughter of the Sea.

"Juvia has found nothing of consequence," she reported, her tone bored.

Cana surfaced. She, like Lucy and Levy and the others, was a Reborn Siren and was closer to humans more than the others, although they all suspected it was because of her love for their alcoholic drinks. "I found some expensive wine in the last one," she said, grinning. "I'll see you at shore!" She swam off, towing a crate behind her, her brown fish tail swishing behind her to propel her forward.

Lucy sighed, her own coral pink tail throwing flashes of light in the water as the sunshine reflected off her scales. "We better go back."

They nodded and ducked down below the surface, swimming back towards shore, with Levy's orange tail shimmering and Juvia's own ocean blue tail reflecting light like Lucy's.

They found Cana already changed to her human form and pulling a pair of brown knee-length trousers over her bare wet skin, the crate sitting on the sand next to her, tendrils of seaweed and kelp hanging off the corners and sides with sand caked on one side from being dragged through the sand. Cana broke through the rotted wood and triumphantly held up a dull bottle.

"Cana, you probably shouldn't drink that," Levy warned, her legs forming as she shed her scales and climbed out of the water to pull on her brown skirt and loose linen shirt nearby.

"I agree," Lucy said, her own tail melting away into a pair of legs and walking out to pull on a dark blue short skirt.

Juvia said nothing, but remained in the water. Being a True Siren, she couldn't change whenever she wanted to and randomly changed, even when she least expected it. Recently, she had begun to have some control over her changes, although her changes were still unexpected.

Lisanna and Mirajane, sisters, strolled towards them, their long white and blue- trimmed dresses swirling around their ankles. Wendy, the youngest Siren, came from the opposite direction. All the Sirens, save for Queen Erza, was congregated on the beach.

"Levy's right. You don't know how long that's been under the water," Mirajane warned. "There could be something in there that could make you sick."

Cana sighed. "I'm running out of booze. I only have about two bottles left."

"You're in luck," Lisanna said. "Erza sensed a ship passing through a little north of us. It's stocked with the human's drink."

The Siren whooped. "Great! When can we go?"

"Erza told us to go on without her," Mirajane replied, already slipping off her dress and throwing it on the soft sand. Her younger sister followed suit and they waded into the water, Mirajane growing a maroon tail and Lisanna, a light periwinkle tail. Wendy followed and grew a sky blue tail, the scales no larger than the nail of her index finger.

All of the Sirens had different colored tails and the stereotypical shell bras that covered their chests. Lucy's was a lighter pink than her tail, Levy's a blue and so was Cana's and Juvia's. Lisanna wore a white while her sister's was a less vibrant pink than Lucy's. Wendy wore a shirt, as she was still a little young.

"Is Erza coming with us?" Lucy asked after she tossed her bag onto the beach along with Levy's.

"She'll be meeting us close by the merchant ship," Lisanna replied.

"Alright, are we all ready?" Lucy asked. As the first Siren to serve under Erza's rule, she was a sort of second-in-command and the rest of the Sirens followed her lead when Erza was absent.

They nodded and dove into the deep watery depths.

* * *

**I was bored but I wanted to work on this even though I promised myself I wouldn't so I wrote this quickly and I'm sorry if it's a little sloppy, but please review! :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jellal gazed up at the stars at the edge of the deck, the gentle yet chilly sea wind blowing at him, although he was protected with his coat. It was dinnertime for most of his crew, but Natsu was currently at the wheel and Romeo, the cabin boy, was sitting by him while fiddling with a piece of string, learning how to tie knots, directed by Natsu.

"What's wrong, Captain?" a voice spoke up and Jellal turned around to see Gray behind him.

"Not much," Jellal admitting. "Just thinking."

"Not worried about the Sirens, I hope." Gray stepped forward and stood next to Jellal, looking out over the sea as his arms propped him up as he leaned forward.

"Sirens?"

Gray snorted. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of them. They're the devils of the sea; beautiful women who sing to sailors so that they crash on the rocks around their island and drown at sea."

"I know about the Sirens. I just don't know why you're asking me if I'm worried about them."

"Well, it's only a rumor, but word has it that these waters are ruled by a fearsome Siren Queen who would kill you as soon as look at you and can release hundred-foot waves that could overpower a ship in a few seconds." Gray released a sigh. "Well, that's what Ultear heard from several sailors she passed by on the way to the market one day."

"That is nonsense," Jellal said firmly. "There are no such things as Sirens."

"Gray might be right, Captain." A new voice came from behind them and they turned their heads to see Laxus standing with his arms crossed.

"Laxus? You too?" Jellal asked, incredulous.

"Gramps said that he saw a Siren when he was younger once. He said that her name was Mavis and she was a Siren Queen of this ocean. After that day, however, he never saw her again," Laxus said simply.

Jellal's eyebrow shot up at Laxus' tale. "And you believed him?"

"Gramps said he clearly saw that the lower half of her was a bright sparkling red tail."

Jellal shook his head. "I'm not one to say Master Makarov is crazy, but this tale is far too outrageous. How could Makarov have seen and even conversed with a Siren without her drowning him, if Sirens are as evil as Gray says. It's impossible, and most of all, Sirens don't exist."

Gray and Laxus exchanged a look then turned back to Jellal.

"As you say, Captain," Gray said, his voice betraying none of his emotions.

* * *

It wasn't long before Lucy and the other Sirens caught sight of the Siren Queen.

Queen Erza is a beautiful woman with flowing scarlet hair, deep brown eyes that bespoke seriousness and cruelty, and a slender voluptuous body covered with a purple shell bra. The lower half of her was a beautiful shimmering sea green tail.. Around her hips, unlike the others, is a thin hoop of pure gold that hung a little loosely. This was her symbol of power, while other Queens had scepters and crowns and some preferred jewelry.

"Queen Erza," Lucy said, bowing to her. The others bowed as well before the stern Queen.

"It's good to see you've arrived so soon," Erza replied. "The ship is nearly upon us. We should act now."

They nodded and floated up to the surface, using their tails to propel themselves until they floated at their waists over the waves. Together, as one with Erza at the head, they opened their mouths and sang.

Their voices were haunting and mysterious, beautiful yet harsh, wild yet tamed. It was a song that bespoke of crashing waves and roaring seas and the harshness of storms where thunder and lightning clashed mercilessly and threw the ocean into a frenzy of riotous and unmanageable fervor. They sang out as they called to the wind and the water to aid them in an unimaginably exquisite melody.

And the sea answered with thundering clouds and gigantic waves. It crashed into the ship with rage and eagerness and swallowed the ship as the men frantically tried to regain control, a feat that was destined to fail even before it began. With a splintering crack, the ship snapped and sank rapidly beneath the hungry, foamy waves.

There were no survivors.

Quickly, Erza and the others dipped beneath the surface and followed the ship down to the sea floor and waited until it settled so that it would be safe to loot. As soon as it did, Cana immediately darted into the hold and triumphantly dragged out a tightly-sealed barrel. She went back for a few more and placed them within a net of thick ropes she wove while she waited for the others to finish their explorations.

Lucy found a little jewelry from the dead bodies, including a gorgeous gold ring set with a large ruby the size of a coin. She delightedly tried it on but it didn't fit although she still kept it. Nearby, Levy was rifling through the smashed captain's cabin and found a soggy map which broke in her grip. She looked a little more and found clothes which she eagerly shared with the rest of the Sirens. Clothes, even if they were men's, were a good treasure to find, as Sirens needed to wear clothes on land.

Wendy found nothing she liked and merely stayed by Erza's side as the Queen watched over her Sirens. When they were done, she signaled to them and led the way back home. Juvia, Mirajane, and Lisanna helped Cana with the barrels.

"That wasn't a good of a haul as I thought it would be," Levy said in a disappointed voice.

"Only for Cana," Lucy laughed. "You wanted that map didn't you?"

"I wish humans could make paper that won't break apart in water," Levy grumbled.

"I didn't find anything but clothes," Lisanna said, her voice slightly strained. "I want to keep one of the coats. Do you think Erza'll let me?"

"You can ask when we get back," Mirajane replied. "I want the long pants. All I've found were short ones so far."

"Mmm, and the boots," Lucy agreed.

"They probably smell or something," Lisanna laughed.

"After a good soak in the sea they won't," Lucy argued playfully.

They laughed and continued on their way.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Jellal asked distractedly.

"Hm? Hear what?" Natsu asked, looking up from the map he was studying.

"I thought I heard… singing," the Captain whispered, gazing with faraway eyes out to the slightly agitated sea. "And did you notice? The waves seemed to be getting restless."

Natsu looked out as well. "I don't know. Maybe it's the Sirens."

"There are no Sirens," Jellal said with a touch of impatience. He shook his head. "I must be imagining things," he muttered and went down to his cabin.

Natsu looked after him and sighed. The Captain was as stubborn as ever.

* * *

**What do you think? :D I keep thinking Jellal and the crew of the Fairy Tail might be a little OOC. Do you think so? :( Anyways, review please! :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was late afternoon when the crew of the Fairy Tail saw the thunderstorm, the wind urging them towards the heart of it as sheets of rain poured down while white bolts of lightning flickered down to the water as the sea tossed restlessly.

Laxus grinned wildly at the sight. Ever since he was young, he had always had a fascination with lightning that many people thought was rather strange. But then again, most of the crew of the _Fairy Tail_ had an abnormal attraction to an element. Natsu was attracted to fire, Gray to ice, and Gajeel to metal. Jellal hadn't minded, but when he was younger, he'd teased them about it.

"Don't do anything stupid," he told Laxus, who was going up to the crow's nest to scout.

"You know I won't," he said, still with that insane grin on his face, and began to climb.

Natsu, his face green, staggered to the edge and vomited into the sea. "Ugh… s-s-stop…"

Jellal gave him a pitying look, but knew he could do nothing for him. "Hold on, everybody!" he called as the icy rain fell on them and they are soon caught in the thick of the storm.

Gray grabbed onto the mast as an enormous wave hit them, sloshing over the deck. "Captain! Try to steer the ship away from the storm or we'll die!"

Jellal nodded and lurched unsteadily to the wheel and attempting to tame the creaking, groaning ship. "Gray! You know what to do!" he shouted down. "And tie Natsu to the mast or he'll be washed out!"

Gray nodded once and dove across the tilting deck to reach Natsu and crawl back to the mast, tying up the poor first mate with a coil of rope lying nearby. He, Romeo, Bixslow, and Gajeel began to manage the sails as it billowed out from the wind. Laxus climbed down to help, struggling slightly as the wind pulled at him with tenacious fingers.

They struggled for an indefinable amount of time as the sea roared and the wind shrieked.

Then… they heard the singing.

It was the most beautiful and the most baleful thing Jellal had ever heard in his life. It was horrifying: it was as if it crept into his mind and took away everything that made him Jellal Fernandes and replaced it with a burning desire to let go and let the sea claim him and his ship so that he and his crew could revel in the deep watery depths for all eternity.

And Jellal wanted to.

He shivered. A tiny part of his brain screamed at him not to listen, but he ignored it letting himself agree to the song's demand and stepping away from the wheel.

But although he was lost to the fey strains of music, he still processed terror as a huge wave— larger than any he'd ever seen in his life— loomed over them and he screamed as it hurtled down, blotting out the sky and engulfed the ship.

He lost consciousness as soon as the ship sank.

* * *

Erza watched as the sailors futilely struggled with the snapping sails. She noted that a man with strange _pink_ hair a few shades darker than Lucy's tail was tied to the mast, but didn't give much thought to it. He'll die soon anyway.

What drew her eye the most was the man at the wheel. For some reason, he astonished her more than anything had ever done so in the world.

It was the most beautiful blue she'd ever seen; a deep vibrant rich blue that was even more beautiful than the sea's depths and as she stared at it, she was suddenly seized with a longing to touch those blue locks, run her hands through it and marvel at its color on her pale skin.

She jerked back, eyes wide and heart pounding. What was with her today? She'd seen blue hair before, why does his affect her so strongly?

Suddenly, for the first time in her life, Erza decided to spare these sailors.

"Stop!" Erza commanded and Lucy and the others ceased their singing with looks of astonishment as the ship was pushed under by the enormous wave they conjured.

"Erza…?" Lucy said with astonishment.

"Go. Quickly. Save them," she said tersely as she dove under the water, dodging around the falling debris until she reached the man with the hair that captivated her.

She stared at his face. There was a strange red marking over the right side of his face, but now was not the time to wonder about it. Erza shot to the surface, carrying the man with her and waited for her Sirens to reappear in the calming sea. The rain still fell, but much more lightly and patches of sunlight began to break out through the dispersing clouds.

Lucy reappeared with the pink haired man. "I don't know why he was tied to the mast, but he's in bad shape," she said. She gave Erza a searching look. "Why did you save them?"

As soon as she said it, Juvia came up with one of the dark-haired men and Levy, Cana, and Lisanna came up with the other dark haired man. Wendy appeared with the boy and lastly Mira bobbed up with the large blond man. "I'm sorry, but the other two were caught beneath debris and I couldn't carry more than one," she said apologetically.

"It's ok. Let's go home," Erza said shortly and the Sirens balked and stared at her.

"But Erza, what about these men?" Lucy asked, gesturing to the unconscious boy dangling over her shoulders.

"We'll take them with us. Take care of them until they recovered and then we'll decide on what to do with them," Erza said and her cold eyes surveyed them and they shivered and straightened. "Are there any complaints?"

"No, Queen Erza," they chanted with slight fear in their voices and she nodded coldly and swam off, skimming with her head and shoulders above the surface so that the man on her back could breath.

As she swam, she thought, _What have you gotten yourself into, Erza?_

* * *

**I'm sorry for the long update, but since school started, I haven't had time to work on any of my fanfictions so I'm really sorry about that. Please bear with me! I try to update for my fanfictions at least once a week, but in random order, so I don't know when the next update for this fanfiction might be :( Please review! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**I won't be updating for a while because of my schoolwork. I'm very sorry to those who would've liked for me to continue this, but I really don't have the time. I'll only be continuing Desert Wars and My Choice To Make for the time being.**

**I'm sorry if this chapter may be rushed and OOC, but I was in a hurry to finish. I hope I made up for these flaws with length. Please review if you like this chapter and again, I'm sorry that I won't be updating in a while.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

It was uncomfortably warm when Jellal struggled to wakefulness. There was dim light at first, then harsh brightness as he found himself staring at the sun. He groaned and weakly raised a hand to block the sunlight streaming down.

Then there was thankful shade as a broad frond was placed over his head and he sighed with contentment, closing his eyes again. There was a moment of blissful unawareness, then he was jolted to reality and he bolted upright.

"Eek!" a young girl with long blue hair cried and collapsed backwards into the sand.

"Ahhhhh!" he shrieked, until he flushed, realizing that he was surrounded by his crew, who'd all heard him scream like a girl.

Natsu and Gray howled with laughter while Laxus and Romo grinned and Gajeel snickered. "Nice to see you too, Princess," he smirked.

"Shut up," Jellal muttered, still red in the face, and looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was on a beach, he realized. It was a beautiful place, with a sapphire lagoon and a white strip of beach that curved around the entire lagoon. Behind was a small forest and to the right were gigantic rocks that formed caves among it and between the rocks and the forest, there was a smooth patch that led off somewhere deeper into the island. There was a patch of smooth stone rocks some ways off the beach to his left that seemed a little out of place and yet fit in comfortably with the rest of the landscape.

"Where are we?" Jellal muttered.

"We don't know either," Gray admitted. "And, we can't find Freed or Bixslow. And these girls won't tell us anything." He jabbed his finger to a cluster of women standing by the water's edge. There were three with blue hair, two with white, a brunette, and a blond. One of the blue-haired girls was the one Jellal had scared off when he woke and another was short enough to pass for a girl, but possessed the maturity of a young woman despite her lack of a chest. The rest of the women were quite slender and voluptuous, especially the blond. She seemed to be the leader of the group and stood closer to the men than the others. With shock, Jellal realized that all of them were wearing shirts and pants like men, something unheard of back at home.

The blonde stepped forward. "Um… hello." She blushed, most likely with embarrassment, and looked back at the other girls. One of them nodded at her and the blonde spoke up again. "Welcome to Siren's Bay. My name is Lucy, and this is Levy, Mirajane, Lisanna, Cana, Juvia, Levy, and Wendy. We are the ones who saved you."

"Uh… Thank you for saving us," Jellal said. "My name is Jellal. These are Natsu, Gray, Romeo, Gajeel, and Laxus. Do you know where two of my shipmates are?"

"Who are they?" Lucy asked.

"One is Freed. He has long green hair and the other is Bixslow," Laxus spoke up, crossing his arms.

Lucy turned to the woman with the longer white hair— Mirajane— and whispered something. Mirajane shook her head and spoke up. "I couldn't save them in time. They were caught underneath debris from your ship and I could only save you." She bowed her head. "I'm deeply sorry."

Laxus bellowed out a curse and slammed his fist into the soft sand. Romeo slumped, eyes blank with shock and Gajeel, Gray, and Natsu clenched their fists, their faces twisted with pain.

Jellal felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. Freed and Bixslow… gone? "Why… how…" he stammered.

"I'm sorry. Erza told us to save them, but we couldn't. There are more of you than us," Lisanna said in a subdued voice. "Please don't blame my sister for this. We really are sorry."

Natsu snarled, standing. "If you were sorry you—" He was stopped as Gray pulled him back down, standing himself. "How did you save us?" he demanded. "It was a nightmare of a storm out there. How could you have survived that and pulled us out at the same time?"

Again, Lucy exchanged looks with the rest of the girls before replying. "We are Sirens."

Silence. And somehow, it seemed worse than people shouting, 'You're a liar!' or 'I told you Sirens exist!' or something along the lines of that.

"You sunk our ship, didn't you?" Jellal said, staggering upright. "Why would you do something like that?"

"Orders. Juvia sensed a ship. Naturally we went out to destroy it," Lucy stated in a flat voice. "But for some reason, Erza decided to save you."

Jellal didn't give a thought to who Erza was, but merely shouted, "And because of you Sirens, Freed and Bixslow are dead!"

Mirajane's eyes filled with tears and she turned away, crying into her hands. Lisanna went to comfort her sister, anxiously stroking her back. "I'm really sorry!" she wailed.

"And why would a Siren who tried to kill us now feel sorry for us?" Laxus spat, also standing.

"Please, we aren't monsters like what the legends say," Levy said, holding up her hands. "We do it because we have to survive and because this is the price we have to pay for a second chance."

"It's complicated," Cana said. "First off, the filthy humans take our food and pollute our homes. Second of all, the sea doesn't like to be trampled on by land dwellers. We are the sea's army in a way."

"We also all died at sea and the sea gave us a second chance to live. In exchange, we become Sirens and our job is to destroy sailors. We may not like it, but we have to do it to survive," Lucy continued.

"Especially Erza," Lisanna said, after Mirajane had finished crying. "She's more ruthless than any of us."

"Who's Erza?" Natsu asked.

"She's the Siren Queen of what you humans call the Pacific Ocean," Lucy said. "She's the one who decided to save you, but we don't know why. She's the most feared Siren in the world, and yet something about you six made her decide to save you." She cast a puzzled look over them.

"Juvia thinks we should give them an explanation about Sirens," Juvia said from where she stood, her feet in the foamy waves. She looked at Gray and blushed crimson, although the man was oblivious.

"I think we should too," Wendy said softly, peeking shyly at Jellal.

Lucy sighed. "Erza didn't say if we should… but I guess it's alright." She sat down, as did Levy, and Wendy, but Lisanna, Mirajane, Cana, and Juvia left, ducking into the waves. A moment later, sopping wet clothes were flying out and fell in a heap on the dry sand and the men saw flashes of ocean blue, brown, periwinkle, and maroon disappear into the depths.

"I guess they really weren't lying," Gray muttered. He and the others sat back down, waiting.

Lucy cleared her throat and began. She talked about the origin of Sirens, the Siren Queens, more into the role of Sirens, and the differences between them, such as how Juvia was a True Siren and the rest of them are Reborn Sirens. She explained that there were a lot more Siren groups out there and how each Siren Queen controlled a specific part of the ocean, and a hundred and one other little things that she decided to divulge. What she left out, was their personal stories on how they became Sirens and her thoughts on why Erza saved the men.

"Wow…," Jellal said by the time the narrative was over. By then, the sun was low in the sky and Levy had left to pick up the wet clothes and toss them to the sea once she heard a splash and to build a large fire using driftwood. The heat seemed to add to the humid air, but none of them seemed to mind, except that Gray stripped all his clothes off, causing Natsu to yell at him.

"That's all you need to know so far," Lucy said. She stood, stretching, and looked over the sea before gazing up at the enormous rocks. "Oh look, there's Erza."

They all whipped around and saw a woman with long flowing red hair standing upon the tallest of the rocks, looking as regal as the queen she was. Her steady eyes gazed out at the dying sun and her hair and clothes blew in the soft wind. She was beautiful and mysterious and Jellal could feel his heart pound in his chest, but he couldn't comprehend why.

Just as the sun touched the edge of the earth, Erza turned and walked away, her bare feet finding an invisible path on the boulders that eventually led her down to the beach, where they were now joined by the rest of the Sirens.

"Erza," Lucy greeted.

"Lucy," the Siren Queen said, looking over the men with cold eyes. "You told them about us?"

"Yes, but none of how we as a group came to be."

"Hm." Her gaze landed on Jellal and they stared into each other's eyes. Jellal's heart began to beat faster once again and it continued to do so even when she broke eye contact with him and gestured to the fire. "Shall we eat?"

"Great! I'm starving! What's for dinner?" Natsu eagerly ran over to the fire, sitting close while the rest settled an appropriate distance away. Juvia in particular sat farthest away from the flames and more towards the sea.

"We have roasted fish," Mira said. "Lisanna and I caught some." She picked up a cooked fish that easily had to be the size of a small child. "I got one for each."

Jellal's, Laxus', Gray's, Gajeel's and Romeo's mouths dropped open with shock, but Natsu was licking his lips. "Great! Can I have one?"

She handed him the fish and he began to devour it eagerly. Lucy and the others took their enormous portion as well and began to eat. Jellal took his with trepidation. "How much do you all usually eat?" he asked.

"Our meals tend to be larger than a human's since we use more energy swimming than walking," Mirajane said. "It's why we need to protect the sea, so we can feed ourselves. Anything less than this and we starve."

"Agh khow wa hu heen," Natsu said with his mouth full. "Agh harve hen agh hag ho foo."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, idiot!" Gray said, hitting Natsu over the head.

Natsu swallowed and was about to retaliate when Jellal said, "Enough!"

"Sorry, Captain."

"Sorry, Jellal."

Jellal sighed and broke his fish into quarters, taking his time eating. Natsu and Gajeel were already done with theirs, leaving the rest of them to finish eating. As he ate, his gaze turned back to Erza, who was sitting across from him, eating in a measured pace. The fire crackled, a barrier between them.

Juvia stood, finished. She picked up the carcass of the fish and buried it somewhere on the edge of the forest before stepping into the sea. Within seconds, she'd disappeared.

"Where's she going?" Gray asked.

"Juvia can't stay on land for long. A day is her limit so she lives in an underwater cave by the rocks underneath ours," Lucy explained. She stood and buried her fish carcass next to Juvia's. "We dispose of our dinner by burying it," she added to the inquiring looks she received.

After dinner, Jellal and the others were led inland through the gap between the forest and the boulders and arrived at an enormous clearing. One side of it was occupied by a waterfall and a gigantic pool at the base of it with a river leading off to the north where it reaches the sea. The other side was still the large collection of rocks that seemed to take up an entire side of the island.

"You can stay here for the night," Erza said. "Make yourselves comfortable and we will see you in the morning." She turned without another word and left, Lucy and the others leaving with her.

Jellal and the others looked at each other, then plopped down on the soft springy grass. Natsu and Gajeel were snoring in seconds. Laxus and Romeo were next and Gray fell asleep only after he'd stripped down to nothing but his underpants. Jellal was left staring up at the stars, thinking of the cold Siren Queen.

_We'll see what tomorrow brings_, he thought, drifting off.


End file.
